16 Days of Activism: Eradicating gender-based violence

We are currently in the midst of 16 Days of Activism – an international campaign where different activists and advocates from around the world stand in solidarity to raise awareness on gender-based violence (GBV). Globally almost one in every three women experience violence during their life and one in every four adolescent girls are abused by their partners. Violence against women and girls is pervasive throughout societies and a key sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issue. In Make Way, we strive to ensure that everyone can realise their SRHR, especially minoritised young people. We work with and for young people to understand their lived realities, applying these learnings to our intersectional SRHR advocacy work.

To mark the 16 Days of Activism, we interviewed three Make Way youth representatives who are paving the way for youth: Bertha Chulu (Zambia), Elizabeth Warindi (Kenya) and Vilda Atieno (Kenya). We discussed the different issues that youth face when it comes to GBV, the role of youth and Make Way in combatting violence against women and girls and their call-to-action to policymakers and governments to finally end GBV.

From left to right the Make Way youth representatives: Bertha Chulu, Elizabeth Warindi and Vilda Atieno.

What particular issues do youth face when it comes to gender-based violence?

Bertha

“Even after so many progressive global, regional, and national processes, we still witness weakened response systems on GBV. The number of victims keeps growing and most of these cases go unreported. I witnessed in my own community, when a young girl reported a case of sexual abuse to officials that she was later coerced into withdrawing her report. The matter was treated as one that the two families could solve without engaging the local authorities.

Violence also goes beyond sexual violence. Many of us are discriminated against for being a young female. Our age is treated as a determinant of our relevance and contributions in, for instance, the corporate world.”

What role can youth play in combating gender-based violence?

Bertha

“Young people can do so much to combat GBV. They can:

• Make a position statement at an individual level to be an ally to eradicate violence in all its forms.
• Never let any situations that demonstrate violence based on gender go unaddressed.
• Champion awareness-raising events but of course, this is only possible with political will and embracing intergenerational dialogue to change the narrative.
• Utilise the power of tools such as social media. For example, we can use these vices to conduct awareness on GBV and brand ourselves as agents of change for a more just and inclusive world.
• Lead advocacy work to influence policy that addresses GBV holistically and strengthens response mechanisms on GBV.”

What work have you done in Make Way related to combating gender-based violence?

Bertha

“Make Way has provided opportunities to learn through various toolkits and to join international advocacy spaces to tackle GBV. At the United Nations General Assembly that I attended in 2023 as a Make Way youth panellist, I collaborated with Akina Mama wa Afrika to be part of the Women’s Major Group. This is a group of women and men conducting robust advocacy for gender equality and eradicating GBV. Together, we conducted a protest targeting world leaders to put in place favourable policies for gender equality and to also instigate measures that address weak reporting mechanisms of violence against women and girls.”

Vilda

“As youth panellists, we have collectively joined forces with other advocates and youth panels in Make Way to call for the strengthening of the implementation of policies addressing GBV. There has been collaboration with different alliances such as Right Here Right Now and SRHR Alliance where we get to echo each others voices towards curbing GBV.

I have also actively engaged in disability youth-led research for persons with disabilities. This includes regional research that was conducted with Make Way youth members to find solutions for issues affecting young persons, with access to contraception and sexual GBV deeply pronounced.”

Warindi

“The Make Way programme has provided me with a platform to learn about issues like GBV in Kenya and provide opportunities for advocacy and engagement. I participated in the Beijing+30 consultations for East Africa where I participated in reviewing the progress in achieving women’s rights.

GBV in Kenya is prevalent with UN Women reporting 500 cases of femicide since 2016; however, many more remain unreported. This year alone, the Daily Nation reports that the Director of Criminal Investigations revealed that 97 women had been killed in the last three months.

The progress towards combating GBV in Kenya has been slow, therefore sufficient advocacy must be done to raise awareness and agitate for better policy implementation. Additionally, during these 16 Days of Activism against GBV, I will raise awareness and co-create solutions to combat the issue in Kenya on social media; especially in X Spaces as a panellist.”

Do you have a call to action to policymakers and governments to tackle gender-based violence?

Bertha

“We call upon governments to invest in interventions that directly address GBV and strengthen response mechanisms to ensure that victims get the physical, mental and emotional support that they need as well as social justice. CSOs must expand their coverage and engage more communities in raising awareness on GBV and must continue to provide progressive recommendations and social accountability  to governments to enhance efforts to eradicate GBV. We call on all governments, policy makers and CSOs alike to walk the talk and demonstrate commitment to the Beijing+30 declaration.”

Vilda 

“My call to action to the government of Kenya is to make reporting systems accessible by investing in the implementation of policies. There are so many unreported cases among persons with disabilities in the community. We all have a role to play in ensuring GBV comes to an end.”

Warindi 

“My call to action to the government of Kenya is to formulate policies that create awareness of GBV and femicide in communities where it is prevalent, which are rural areas and urban informal settlements in Nairobi. Police officers should also be trained on GBV response to ensure that victims get justice.”